Today design and technology have become reliant on each other. Architectural research investigates how a cohesive relationship between engineering/structure and the arts create a new framework for design. Learning from multiple art periods, architecture should construct new methods of thinking and new dimensions for design to develop. Research should redirect how architecture should be thought and provide evidence on where it can move to next. It should be something aesthetic but also something innovative.

Today, the word ‘research’ have a much broader scope than it was in the past. It raises a question as the article title suggest ‘Is there research in the studio?’. As varnelis reminds us the origins of the research studio by providing various examples he also mentions that research in architecture have changed from concentration on structural and technological innovations to purified arts as a new profession of engineers had evolved. Even though I believe architects need to have profound knowledge on every aspect of design process since there is a possibility that various professions can degenerate the concept, I also believe that today architecture is portrayed as a study that is a combination of art, science and technology.

In the article ’Space, time and architecture’, it shows us how cubism had opened an opportunity for new dimensions in art and how it had created a movement that had helped the art evolution from a two-dimensional to more dimensions. This again connects to the conclusion of the first article where he suggests ‘not to go with the flow but rather redirect it’.These articles suggest as a pupil in the research studio we play a crucial role in not only contributing to the research but also creating a path to further research.

The caption ‘Is there research in the studio?’ is intriguing as it can possibly have many interpretations in itself. The terms ‘research’ and ‘studio’ gradually can be comprehended and the interrelations are derived with the development in the essay. Bannister’s earlier idea of portrayal of architectural research as a combination of design and technology, Eameses’ delivery of fundamental ideas through films, Smithson’s understanding of having an open eye for the small and ordinary things around oneself are few influential examples of architectural research. Architectural research being different than studio research is exemplified through Venturi’s Learning from Las Vegas and Koolhaas’s Delirious New York. Studio Research is all about investigating the subject systematically with a certain set of discipline.

Comprehending the research; to not limit the flow or reading between the lines is to study the existing but at the same time analyzing the non-existent, to pursue all possible outcomes and adhering to various solutions. Rational thoughts over fundamentals of architecture becomes a great foundation for the research study. Design as research is another aspect of architectural research. Knowing the design solution and further analyzing it for the betterment of the issue is different from analyzing the issue and then proposing a design solution. This concept is explained with the references of MoMA’s seminal exhibition 1988, Deconstructivism and Foreclosed. Applied design focuses on application of pre requisite knowledge and essentially even though known for latest architecture’s computational fashion it is about knowing of the older existing knowledge and putting it to application.

Design as research or design in research studio is hence about breaking the ground zero rules and going beyond conventional thoughts and process. On similar lines the relation of technology to space and time is demonstrated in nineteenth century works. Modern paintings brought in introduction of perspectives, dimensions and space and movement in the space. The experiments with movements in space and time are great examples of technology in our rational thoughts.

Research in architecture always holds a prime importance to complete any architectural project successfully. The three articles, ‘Is There Research in the Studio? by Kazys Varnelis, The rise of DAR: from crisis to possibilities and Space by Javier Arbona, Time and Architecture by Sigfried Giedion’ provide a distinct and versatile information about how the ‘architectural’ research got involved in it. (I will refer them as being first, second and third article in my response.) Also they helped to understand different meanings attached to it. As architecture being one of the branches of ART, the research involved in this field closely relates with ‘creativity’ – research in a creative manner. The Eameses’s documentary film exercise to conduct and convey the research is one of the examples from first article. Use images and films as a means of delivering one fundamental idea.

In my opinion every research in any field runs on one big idea. It is very noticeable from Smithsons’ statement which is one of my favorite, ‘a new seeing of the ordinary, an openness as to how prosaic ‘things’ could re-energise [their] inventive activity.’ Here the big idea is taking the world ‘as found’ but the challenge is to think in different ways about ordinary things, from the perspectives that never thought of before. Moreover in such cases, an idea leads to the specific research that innovates new ideologies and delivered through final product, I call this entire process as ‘design’ and so I understand ‘Research as Design’ as a whole. However, I also agree that the politics, finance, builder lobby etc. involved in the field try to degrade the initial critical analysis (research) and jump on design as research. The practices of Rem Koolhaas’s AMO, Knowledge Platform by UNStudio and Morphopedia by Morphosis are some of the other milestones in influencing the creative research involved in architecture studios with Bannister’s Journal of Architectural Education.

I like the way first article relates and compares between Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi’s ‘Learning from Las Vegas’ and Rem Koolhaas’s ‘Delirious New York’ from all the examples provided in the article. The Latter takes the help of architecture theory and history to conduct the research and delivers the innovative radical thinking evolved from the research and Koolhaas’s personal ideas. These two examples assist in realizing in what ways research should developed in architecture studios.

The second and third article provides delves further into understanding of term ‘Design as Research’ to identify the broader penetration of the research imagination in architecture. Second article takes help of Deconstructivism to convey the idea of process is important rather than finished product. After reading all the three articles I am very well persuaded with the statement that design is not synonymous with research. Design cannot be base its conclusion on design itself and architecture should open to both design and research, as opposed to design as research. Again, Rem Koolhaas’s ‘Delirious New York’ is good example to understand this concept.

Hi Class,

This is a sample post with a couple of notes and an example of how to add your categories. You’ll notice when you log in and click to add a new post for your reading responses, there is a list of “Categories” on the right side of the page. Just choose the one that corresponds for that week’s readings (I’m filing this one under last week; remember to upload your responses from then as well). In the title of your post, be sure to first include your name, as I’ve done here. You should also experiment with adding content, like links, as in “Hello World!” The toolbar is fairly self-explanatory for this and for styling.

Then just hit the “Publish” button.

Also: here is a reminder of the 4 groups for leading the class one time each:

Group 1 / Brian, John, Brandon, Drew
Group 2 / Dean, Koushik, Patrick
Group 3 / Lesley, Sepehr, Iryna, Yushi
Group 4 / Sean, John W, Aniket, Unnati